Two years ago, a tragedy caught the world’s attention … but not in a particularly sympathetic way. The fatal implosion of submersible Titan on its descent to the deep-sea tourist destination of the Titanic’s wreckage in the North Atlantic claimed five lives, including that of Stockton Rush, co-founder and CEO of the vessel’s company OceanGate. Though confirming their fate took some time, an explanatory narrative quickly emerged: Seeking fame as a high-tech adventurer, Rush had heedlessly led his wealthy paying customers into a death trap, ignoring (or firing) everyone who told him the craft he’d built wasn’t safe.

Indeed, Rush had previously complained that the U.S. regulations he skirted “needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation.” Those were words he lived by —

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